Right by You
by Sukiya62
Summary: Ladybug is beginning to see Chat in a new light, and she's not quite sure how to feel about it. {LadyNoir}


Here we go again. Look at me go, bein' Steven Universe trash and mixin' it with Miraculous. I hate myself so much. Please end me.. (at least im not mixing it with hamilton *shot*)

On a more serious note, I had to do it. They came out with the full song and I don't wanna add on to Love Like You because I like how it is and how it ends and I'm too lazy to go back and edit in the full song. Besides, now you get a nice new fic to look at and it's gonna be full of angst :D

you're welcome

Anyways, I hope you enjoy :3

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 _ **Chapter One**  
What You Think of Me_

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

As the pink light washed over the city of Paris, Ladybug let out a sigh and collapsed on the ground next to her partner. It had been a long, rough battle and even though her miraculous fixed everything, she was sure that they were going to have a few remaining bruises and maybe even a couple of scars. The heroine looked over toward her exhausted partner and offered him a weak smile, which he returned. They did a half-hearted fist bump, not even saying their little catchphrase as they did it. When their miraculouses gave out a warning beep, they both let out a heavy sigh. They knew they had to get up and leave but they were both just so _exhausted_. Chat Noir pulled out his staff and extended it and, with a grunt, used it to help get himself up. Once he was steady on his feet, he turned to his lady and held out his hands. She took them in hers and he pulled her up. Ladybug reached for her yoyo, ready to fling it so she could get back home before her transformation fell, but before she did, her partner placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him.

"Tonight?" he asked.

She gave a nod. "Yeah. Same time as always."

He gave her a nod of his own and then the two parted ways, going back to their homes to rest up. She barely made it into her room before her transformation fell away. She landed on her bed with a thump and a worn out Tikki lying next to her. Marinette gave out a long groan, not wanting to move but knowing she needed to feed her kwami and herself. After procrastinating for a few more seconds, she finally got up and made her way downstairs to grab some food. She made herself a sandwich and grabbed a few cookies for herself and Tikki. She went back upstairs and back into her bed, leaning against her pillows and setting down the napkin filled with cookies so it'd be easier for Tikki to access. She began to nibble on her sandwich, hungry but not really at the same time. She was still in quite a bit of pain and her muscles were aching, but she knew she needed to eat, so she powered through. Once her sandwich was finished, she grabbed a few cookies and ate them.

Once the cookies were polished off and Tikki was herself once again, Marinette picked up the napkin and brushed a few crumbs off of her comforter. She balled up the napkin and left the comfort of her bed to throw away the trash. She looked back up at her bed and it was calling out to her like a siren, promising her comfort and warmth. As much as it pained her, she had to resist the call of her bed and start on her homework. She had quite a lot to do and she didn't want to raise any suspicion from her mother. She already feared that her parents had figured out she was Ladybug, but she tried to keep those thoughts out of her mind as much as possible; she had to be able to keep her wits about her and _not_ worry about what her parents thought of the fact that their daughter was risking her life to save Paris.

With a sigh, the seamstress plopped down in her chair and pulled her books out of her bag, grabbed a pencil and started her homework until the sun began its descent and she was called down for dinner. She put on her best face and made her way down, though of course the façade was replaced by a genuine happiness that only her family could bring out in her after such a long day. With parents like hers, Marinette couldn't help but feel loved and comforted after such a rough day of... _work_. Once she had her fill and helped clean up the table, Marinette retreated back to her room and checked the time. She had another hour to work on her homework before she would have to leave and meet up with Chat for their patrol. She figured they were going to take it light today since she was sure he was still about as worn out as her, if not more considering how he always has to take the blows for her. That's something she was going to have to bring up to him _yet again_. She truly appreciated the thought of his actions, but she was getting worried about him. He barely even flinched anymore when an attack came his way and it was concerning her. She let out a groan and rested her forehead on her desk. Tikki flew over to her and patted her head gently.

"What's wrong, Marinette?" she asked softly, continuing to stroke the girl's head. She turned her head so she could look at her kwami, and Tikki couldn't help but frown at the sad look on her face.

"I'm getting worried about Chat. He's been taking so many hits for me lately... It's concerning.." she mumbled, looking away from her. Tikki let out a small breath and put on her best smile.

"Well, you'll be able to talk to him about it tonight. Maybe this time he'll listen and be more careful." she said, trying her best to sound encouraging. Marinette responded with a hum and sat up.

"I'm gonna work on my homework for a bit." she mumbled. Tikki nodded and watched as her chosen opened her books once more. She stayed there for a few moments, a frown on her face, before flying off to the bed to get a bit more rest before they would need to transform again.

The hour that Marinette had left before she could leave seemed to drag on for _five_ hours. She couldn't focus on her work and her bottom lip was getting raw from all the nibbling she inflicted on it. With a huff, she closed her book and stood up from her seat. It wouldn't hurt to be there early by fifteen minutes, right? She went up to her bed and looked down at Tikki. The kwami looked up at her and nodded. She had figured that the heroine would get impatient. "Tikki, transform me." Ladybug opened up the trapdoor above her bed and hopped out onto the roof. She carefully closed the door before grabbing the yoyo at her hip and flinging it out into the distance. Once it hooked, she swung off of the roof and traversed the Parisian rooftops until she reached her usual meeting spot with Chat Noir. Unsurprisingly, she was the first to arrive. With a bit of a frown, Ladybug sat down on the edge of the roof, hugging her knees to her chest as she waited for her partner to show up. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long; roughly ten minutes passed and she heard the familiar sounds of feet on the rooftops and the occasional sound of metal hitting a roof. She got up and turned around just as he landed on the same roof she was on and he greeted her with a smile.

"Hello, my lady." he said, shooting her a wink just before he bowed. She couldn't stop the eye roll even if she tried.

"Hello Chaton." she replied, walking over to him. He stood up straight once more, putting his baton back in its rightful place. Once she was standing just a few feet in front of him, she crossed her arms over her chest as she looked him over in concern. "Are you feeling alright?" she asked. He looked at her, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. Before he could ask any questions, though, Ladybug began to speak once more. "It's just..." She let out a sigh, turning her head away from him and wiping a hand down her face, stopping to cover her mouth as she contemplated about how exactly to put her thoughts into words. She worried her lip for a few seconds before turning back to face him. The sadness in her eyes broke his heart. "You're taking a lot of hits for me. I know my miraculous fixes things but... I mean it's only to a certain point, you know? I... I don't want you to get hurt, Chat." she whispered, stepping a bit closer to him and placing a hand on his shoulder.

A determined look crossed his features and her eyes widened a bit in shock at the ferocity in his eyes. She let her hand slip away from his shoulder, lightly dragging along his arm before falling limply at her side. "I can't allow you to get hurt, my lady. You're more important. Only you can purify the akumas and set things back to the way they were before. Let me protect you."

"Chat.. you're my _partner_. I _need_ you." Sadness filled Ladybug to her core. Did he really see himself as less important? Did _she_ make him feel this way? "I wouldn't even be able to get to the akuma without your help. You're important too, Chaton. I appreciate the thoughts behind your actions, but you need to take care of yourself too. We're a team, and we can't be a team if one of us is too badly injured. So please... be careful." She could see that he was struggling. Part of him wanted to continue to argue with her, prove to her how important she was and another part of him wanted to drop it. He would do anything to get that sad look off of his lady's face.

Chat let out a sigh. "I'm not making any promises." he warned.

"I just want you to _try_." she begged.

"Alright." And with that, the topic was benched. The heroes took a few moments to gather themselves and get back to what was normal for the duo. Once that was done, they took off to patrol around Paris. They spent the night jumping over rooftops and quite soon they fell into their normal routine of chasing and teasing. The heaviness from earlier was finally gone and they were able to be at ease once more. A few hours passed and the duo finished their patrol, relaxing on a rooftop together. They were both lying next to each other, their shoulders brushing with any movements they'd make. They looked up into the sky, looking at what little stars they could see in the light polluted city.

Ladybug looked over at her partner and watched as he talked animatedly, mostly gesturing with his left arm as he talked to emphasize some of his words. Though sometimes, he'd move his right arm and it would brush against hers. As she watched him, a warm.. _fuzzy_ feeling spread through her entire being and it confused her. She felt like she had felt this sensation before, but she couldn't quite place when or where... She forced herself out of her head and began to chat with Chat once more, burning the hours away.

After a while, Chat let out a sigh. "As much as I would love to stay here all night with you, Bugaboo, we should be heading home." he said, sitting up and looking down at her. She gave a nod and then they both got up and reached for their weapons. Ladybug was about to throw her yoyo out when Chat stopped her by calling out to her. She lowered her arm and turned to face him and her breath caught in her throat. There was a bit of sadness in his eyes, but what really struck her where she stood was the look of devotion in them, and something else that she couldn't quite place. "I wanted to apologize for making you worry about me, my lady. I'll try my best to be careful from now on but.. I can't make any promises." he looked down for a moment, almost as if he was summoning the courage to speak whatever else it was he wanted to say. He took a deep breath and looked back up at her. She hadn't moved an inch, she could barely even breathe. "You're important to me, and I can't allow you to get hurt if there's a way I can stop it. But from now on I'll try not to throw myself in harm's way. I'll find other ways to protect you, my lady." He gave a bow and then extended his baton and vaulted himself off of the roof and headed back home.

Ladybug was stuck, frozen in her spot as his words sunk in. She _should_ be angry. She wasn't a helpless maiden in need of defending, she could very well take care of herself and he _knew_ that, so why did he insist on protecting her? Instead of anger, she felt strangely at peace and a little touched by his words. What was going on with her today? She did her best to shake the thoughts from her mind, but all she could think about were his eyes as her body went into autopilot and made her way home. Once she touched down on her roof her transformation fell away and Marinette sat down on one of the chairs on her roof, trying to sort through her thoughts and her feelings.

She continued to struggle with trying to figure out what it was she was feeling. She knew she had felt this before.. but where? What other time had left her weak like this? She curled up in the chair, hugging her knees to her chest and covering her mouth with one hand. Tikki floated over to her and tried to get her attention, but soon gave up seeing how lost in thought she was. With a small smile and a shake of her head the kwami flew down into the bedroom below and went to go take a nap, leaving Marinette to her brooding.

She wasn't sure how long she had been up for, but Marinette's mind refused to let her rest until she figured this out. As she continued to come up with nothing, she let out a frustrated sigh and got up from the chair, walking over to her trapdoor and getting ready to hop down onto her bed that was calling to her once more. As she reached down to open it, something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head to look and saw the black umbrella and suddenly it all came back to her. The only other time that had left her weak and breathless like this had been when Adrien gave her his umbrella.

He had been so sweet and kind. There had been a hint of sadness at first, but when he handed her the umbrella all she saw was kindness and a bit of determination. Tingles had shot down her spine and her heart had started to flutter, the exact same feelings she had felt tonight when Chat had looked at her and, essentially, told her how much he cared about her. As this realization hit her, she sunk down to the floor, sitting on her legs and looking off into space in shock. There was no way she was beginning to develop feelings for her partner. Nope. No way. Not possible. Everything was just playful banter with them. His flirts never meant anything, right? The more she thought about it, the more she came to realize that his feelings had to be genuine. Why else would he put himself in harm's way like that? Why else would he put her up on a pedestal like he did and constantly try to capture her attention?

"All this time..." she whispered, still unable to believe it. But.. why did he think so highly of her? She had never done anything truly special, had she? What could've caused him to think so highly of her and have such high expectations from her? Heck, she had even been the _cause_ of some of the akumas they've had to face. How could he view her like he did?

Marinette let out a long, low whine and hid her face in her hands. She was going to have to put an end to this. She couldn't afford to have any feelings for her partner, it would ruin their dynamic. She had to lay these feelings to rest before they could develop further. Her mind was made up now and determination spread throughout her being. This was going to be both the beginning and the end of her feelings for Chat Noir. And with that, she opened up her trapdoor and plopped down onto her bed. She closed the door and got changed into her pajamas before finally answering the call of the seductress that was her bed and succumbed to sleep.

 _If I could begin to be  
Half of what you think of me,  
I could do about anything,  
I could even learn how to love._

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I wanted this to be longer, but I also didn't wanna drag it out... maybe the next chapter will be longer.

i hope so;;


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